South AfricaZA

Article 52 of the Constitution of South Africa

Article
52
Chapter
CHAPTER 4 — PARLIAMENT
Index row title
(1) At the first sitting after its election, or when necessary to fill a vacancy, the National
Source document
The South Africa Constitution
Provision ID
db2271e2-e097-415d-b5ff-909bd34c665d

141 words

Verbatim text

Assembly must elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its members. (2) The Chief Justice must preside over the election of a Speaker, or designate another judge to do so. The Speaker presides over the election of a Deputy Speaker. [Sub-s. (2) substituted by s. 2 of the Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001.] (3) The procedure set out in Part A of Schedule 3 applies to the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. (4) The National Assembly may remove the Speaker or Deputy Speaker from office by resolution. A majority of the members of the Assembly must be present when the resolution is adopted. Chapter 4: Parliament (5) In terms of its rules and orders, the National Assembly may elect from among its members other presiding officers to assist the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. Decisions

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 52 of the Constitution of South Africa.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 4 — PARLIAMENT”.
  • The passage runs to about 141 words.
  • Read plainly, it mentions assembly and association — it protects gathering together or joining a group, union or party (the words used: “Assembly”).

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) At the first sitting after its election, or when necessary to fill a vacancy, the National”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.

The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.

This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

How to cite this

Constitution of South Africa, article 52, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/db2271e2-e097-415d-b5ff-909bd34c665d (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/db2271e2-e097-415d-b5ff-909bd34c665d

Accessed 25 October 2026.

Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.

Machine-readable versions